Liquid crystal display device having a wire securing member

ABSTRACT

A liquid crystal display device capable of securing the lamp wire to the mold frame is disclosed. The liquid crystal display device includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying an image, a back light assembly for providing a light to the liquid crystal display panel and a mold frame receiving the liquid crystal display panel and the backlight assembly. The back light assembly includes a light supplying part including a light source for generating a light and a lamp wire for supplying an electrical current to the light supplying part. A securing portion for securing the lamp wire is formed on a side surface or a rear surface of the mold frame, shaped as a groove or a depressed portion, and the lamp wire is secured to the securing portion in such a way that securing and separation of the lamp wire is performed with ease and simplicity. A pair of securing ribs are formed on the bottom of the securing depressed portions facing each other. The lamp wire is secured in the space between a pair of the securing ribs having a width less than a diameter of the lamp wire. Accordingly, a connection failure of the soldering portion of the lamp wire due to a sway of the lamp wire is reduced and the repeated process of securing the lamp wire in manufacturing the LCD device is no longer necessary.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device,and more particularly to a liquid crystal display device having a wiresecuring member that can secure a lamp wire to a mold frame and holdback free sway of the lamp wire to prevent damage to a soldering portionand shorting of the lamp wire when carrying and assembling the LCDdevice.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, information-processing devices are developing considerably tohave various shapes and functions, and to process information morerapidly. Since a display device is indispensable to theinformation-processing device, the display device has also been improvedto keep pace with rapid developments of the information-processingdevice.

Until the present time, CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors have mainly beenused as a display device for various information-processing devices.However, recently the liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as“LCD”) device that is light and small and requires only a little spacehas been developed with the features of a portable device. Such a deviceis being widely used as a display device for a computer, which is atypical information-processing device, a home television set that ishung on the wall and other information-processing devices.

Generally, the LCD device changes the specific molecular arrangement ofthe liquid crystal layer by applying a voltage to the liquid crystallayer, and it converts a variation in optical properties, such asbirefringence, optical linearity, dichromatism, light scatteringcharacteristic, etc., into a variation in visual properties. In otherwords, the LCD device displays information using light modulation by theliquid crystal cell.

Since the LCD device is a passive display device that does not generatea light by itself, it requires a back light assembly to supply light tothe LCD device. The back light assembly includes a light source part forgenerating the light, and a light guide part for guiding the lightgenerated from the light source part to an LCD panel on which an imageis displayed. In a conventional LCD device, the light source partcomprises one or more lamps and the light guide part is made in the formof a plate having a desired thickness.

The back light assembly, including the lamp, the light guiding plate andother supplementary members for generating and guiding light, is encasedwithin in a container called a mold frame, thereby forming a mold frameassembly. Then, the LCD panel is secured on the mold frame assembly in amodule assembly process, which completes the LCD device.

The lamp consumes 70% or more of a driving power of the LCD device;physical properties of the light guide part, such as shape, materialsand the like, also have a strong relation to the size as well as thebrightness of the LCD panel. Hence, the outward dimension and lightefficiency of the LCD device will differ depending on the structure ofthe back light assembly, which influences mechanical and opticalproperties of the LCD device

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the conventionalmold frame assembly.

Referring to FIG. 1, a mold frame assembly 90 includes a back lightassembly and a mold frame 10 containing the back light assembly. Theback light assembly includes a lamp unit (not shown) for generating alight and a light guide unit (not shown) for guiding the generated lightto an LCD panel (not shown) on which an image is displayed.

The lamp unit includes a lamp for generating the light (not shown), alamp reflector (not shown) that surrounds the lamp and reflects thelight radiated from the lamp towards the light guide unit in order toimprove the light efficiency, an inverter (not shown) for supplying amodified alternating current to the lamp, and a pair of lamp wires 22for connecting the inverter and the lamp electrically. The lamp wire 22is fixed or secured by soldering an end of the lamp wire 22 to the lamp.A connector 24 is installed to the other end of the lamp wire 22 toconnect the lamp wire 22 to the inverter with ease and safety.

The light guide unit includes a light guide plate (hereinafter, referredas LGP) for guiding the light generated from the lamp to the LCD panel,a reflection plate installed at a lower side of the LGP so as to reflecta leakage light from the LGP to the LCD panel, and optical sheets forenhancing a light concentration property toward the LCD panel. With theaforementioned elements, the light guide unit can convert into a planelight source for the LCD panel using a linear light source generatedfrom the lamp unit disposed at a side edge portion of the LCD panel.

Preferably, the mold frame 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped box shapeand an upper portion thereof is opened. Consequently, the mold frame 10has four sidewalls and a bottom. On the outer surface of the bottom, asupport portion 12 is formed to support and secure the printed circuitboard bent vertically at a latitudinal side surface of the mold frame.On a part of a longitudinal side surface perpendicular to thelatitudinal side surface, a joint portion 14 is formed to joint achassis to the mold frame. The chassis (not shown) is jointed forbending the printed circuit board along the first side surface of themold frame and securing the printed circuit board to the support portion12. Furthermore, a wire entry 16 is also formed next to the jointportion 14 for entering the lamp wire that connects an electrical powersource (not shown) disposing out of the mold frame with the lampdisposing in the mold frame.

The mold frame assembly 90 is assembled by rendering the lamp unitdisposed at an inner side of the mold frame 10 and the light guide unitpositioned to an opposite side of the lamp unit in the mold frame 10.

After being assembled, the mold frame assembly 90 is transferred to amodule assembly process. In the module assembly process, the LCD panelfor displaying an image is mounted on the upper portion of the moldframe assembly 90 and a chassis for securing the LCD panel to the moldframe is assembled to the joint portion 14. Consequently, an LCD deviceis assembled completely. On this occasion, the lamp wire 22 is drawnfrom the wire entry 16 and connected to the inverter (not shown) forsupplying an electrical power to the lamp.

When the connector 24 is connected to the inverter (not shown) tooperate the LCD device, an electrical power of alternating current issupplied to the lamp through the lamp wire 22 and thus light isgenerated from the lamp. Subsequently, the light is guided to the LCDpanel by the light guide unit and an image is displayed on the LCDpanel. Hence, the lamp wire 22 of the LCD device should always be drawnand exposed out of the mold frame 10 to be supplied a current fordriving the back light assembly from an external power source.

However, the exposure of the lamp wire 22 causes a connection failureand a double securing operation of the lamp wire 22 is required inmanufacturing the LCD device.

Since the lamp wire 22 is always exposed out of the mold frame 10 duringthe transfer process of the mold frame assembly 90 or during the moduleassembly process, unexpected tensile forces may be applied to the lampwire 22 when the lamp wire 22 is entangled or caught on an obstacle.Hence, the unexpected tensile force causes the soldering connection atthe connector 24 to be opened and thus a connection failure may occur.Accordingly, the electrical source power cannot be applied to the lampdue to the connection failure of the lamp wire.

To prevent the lamp wire 22 from entangling or being caught on anobstacle, the mold frame assembly 90 is transferred into the moduleassembly process under a circumstance with the lamp wire 22 beingtemporarily secured to the rear surface of the mold frame assembly 90 byan adhesive such as an adhesive tape. In the module assembly process,the adhesive is removed and then the mold frame assembly 90 isassembled. After the assembly process is completed, the lamp wire isagain secured to the rear surface of the mold frame using adhesive tape.After that, the LCD device is packed into the shielding bag and isshipped.

Thus, the attaching of an adhesive for securing the lamp wire is twicedone repeatedly in the transfer step of the mold frame assembly 90 andthe shipping step of the LCD device, which increases material cost andprocessing time in manufacturing an LCD device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the relatedart, and accordingly, it is an object of the present invention toprovide an LCD device in which a lamp wire is secured to an outersurface of the mold frame in such a way that the lamp wires are securedand separated with ease and simplicity.

To accomplish the object of the present invention, there is provided anLCD device including an LCD panel for displaying an image, a back lightassembly having a light supplying part, including a light source forgenerating a light and a lamp wire for supplying the light to the lightsupplying part, and a mold frame for receiving the backlight assemblyand the LCD panel and having a securing member for securing the lampwire. The securing member is a securing groove formed by cutting offinto the side surface or a securing depressed portion formed by diggingout into the rear surface of the mold frame to form a space receivingthe lamp wire therein. A pair of securing ribs are formed on the bottomof the securing depressed portion facing each other, and the lamp wireis secured in the space between a pair of the securing ribs narrowerthan a diameter of the lamp wire.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the lamp wire issecured to the outer surface of the mold frame to secure and separatethe lamp wires with ease and simplicity.

Hence, the connection defect of the soldering portion due to a sway ofthe lamp wire is improved and it is no longer required to perform thedouble securing operation of the lamp wire in manufacturing the LCDdevice. Accordingly, material cost can be reduced and processing timecan be lessened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome readily apparent by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the conventionalmold frame assembly;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an LCD device having asecuring groove according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the mold frameassembly of the LCD device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing a securing groove taken alongthe line A-A of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are cross sectional views showing securing grooveshaving securing supplements according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the mold frameassembly having a securing portion according to a second embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 7A is a cross sectional view showing a securing portion taken alongthe line A-A of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view showing a securing portion taken alongthe line B-B of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the securing rib shown in FIG. 6according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the first rib taken along the lineC-C of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the mold frameassembly having a securing member according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the securing member taken along theline C-C of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of the securing member in which anadhesive tape is substituted for the clip shown in FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an LCD device having asecuring groove according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 2, an LCD of the first embodiment of the presentinvention has an LCD panel 200 for displaying an image, a back lightassembly 300 for providing a light to the LCD panel 200, a mold frame400 including the LCD panel 200 and the back light assembly 300 and forfixing a lamp wire (not shown) for electrically connecting the backlight assembly 300 with an external power source (not shown), and achassis 500.

The LCD panel 200 includes a thin film transistor (TFT) substrate 212, acolor filter substrate 214, and a liquid crystal (not shown) interposedbetween the TFT substrate 212 and the color filter substrate 214.

The TFT substrate 212 is a transparent glass substrate on which TFTs ina matrix type are formed. A data line is connected to a source printedcircuit board (PCB) 220, and a gate line is connected to a gate printedcircuit board 230. A pixel electrode made of indium tin oxide (ITO),which is a transparent conductive material, is connected to a drainelectrode.

The color filter substrate 214 faces the TFT substrate 212. The colorfilter substrate 214 is a substrate on which R, G, B color pixels areformed by a thin film forming process. The R, G, B pixels display colorswhen a light passes through them. A common electrode made of ITO isdeposited on the entire surface of the color filter substrate 214.

A liquid crystal (not shown) is injected between the TFT substrate 212and the color filter substrate 214. The optical properties of the liquidcrystal can be controlled according to an aligning angle of liquidcrystal molecules changed by a voltage applied to the TFT substrate 212.

When electrical signals are inputted to the data line and to the gateline through the source printed circuit board 220 and the gate printedcircuit board 230, the TFTs are turned on or off. When the TFT is turnedon, an electric field is formed between the pixel electrode of the TFTsubstrate 212 and the common electrode of the color filter substrate214. The electric field changes the aligning angle of the liquid crystalmolecules of the liquid crystal, so that the light transmittance rate isvaried depending on the changed aligning angle, and thereby a desiredpicture is obtained.

The back light assembly 300 for providing a uniform light to the LCDpanel 200 is provided below the LCD panel 200. The back light assembly300 comprises a lamp unit and a light guiding unit.

The lamp unit includes a lamp 310 generating a light, a lamp reflector312 wrapped around one side of the lamp 310, a lamp wire 314 (see FIG.3) connecting electrically the lamp 310 and an outer electrical powersource (not shown). The light guiding unit has a reflection plate 340,an LGP 320 and optical sheets 330.

A CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) is used for the lamp 310. Thelights generated from the lamp 300 are incident through one side edge orboth side edges of the LGP 320. Since the light is radiated from thelamp 310 in all directions, the light emitted in an opposite directionto the LGP is reflected to the LGP by the lamp reflector 312 to therebyenhance the light efficiency.

The LGP 320 is made of transparent material such as an acryl resin and,in one embodiment, is formed in a panel shape including an inclined rearsurface and a flat front surface opposite to the inclined rear surface.According to another embodiment of the present invention, the LGP may beshaped such that the rear surface is flat and the front surface isinclined. The LGP 320 is located under the LCD panel 200, and the lightgenerating from the lamp 310 is incident to the LCD panel 200 throughthe front surface after the light is guided throughout the LGP 320 via aside surface near the lamp 310.

The reflection plate 340 is located under the LGP 320 and the opticalsheets 330 are located above the LGP 320 to improve light concentrationefficiency.

The refection plate 340 functions to decrease a light loss by reflectingthe light, which is not incident to the LCD panel 200 and is leaked fromthe rear surface of the LGP 320, in a direction towards the frontsurface of the LGP 320.

The optical sheets 330 are provided between the LGP 320 and the LCDpanel 200 in order to enhance the light concentration efficiency of thelight that is emitted from the LGP 320 and is inputted to the LCD panel200 uniformly.

Although not shown in the drawings, another embodiment of the back lightassembly in which a light source, such as one or more lamps, is disposeddirectly under the LCD panel without the LGP, (referred to as a directtype back light assembly) can also be provided, and as a matter ofcourse, the scope of the present invention includes the direct type backlight assembly.

The mold frame 400 supports and receives the LCD panel 200 and the backlight assembly 300. The mold frame 400 preferably has a box-shape, andthe upper portion of the mold frame is open. Namely, the mold frame 400has four sidewalls and a bottom surface. The source printed circuitboard 220 and the gate printed circuit board 230 are bent at the outerside surface of the mold frame, and a support portion for supporting andsecuring the bent portion of the source printed circuit board 220 andgate printed circuit board 230 are formed at the rear surface of themold frame 400.

A wire entry 410 is formed at an end of a side surface of the mold frame400 to expose the lamp wire 314 (see FIG. 3) outside the mold frame 400.Also, a first chassis coupling portion 420 a and a second chassiscoupling portion 420 b are formed at both ends of the side surfaces ofthe mold frame 400 in which the wire entry 410 is formed. As a preferredembodiment of the present invention, a side portion of the mold frame400 between the first chassis coupling portion 420 a and the secondchassis coupling portion 420 b is removed to lighten the LCD device. Aseparating body 430 is positioned next to the wire entry 410 so as toseparate the wire entry 410 from the second chassis coupling portion 420b. Namely, the separating body 430 is a part of the side portion of themold frame 400 positioned between the wire entry 410 and the secondchassis coupling portion 420 b with a desired thickness.

A securing groove 432, with reference to FIG. 3, is formed in a portionof the separating body 430 to secure the lamp wire. The securing groove432 is formed so as to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the lampwire 314 so that the lamp wire 314 is forcibly inserted and firmlysecured into the securing groove 432. Securing means, such as a securingprotrusion, an adhesive tape, a securing clip and the like, may be usedto further ensure the securing of the lamp wire. Hence, the sway of thelamp wire can be prohibited. In addition, although unexpected tensilestress is applied to the lamp wire due to the entangling of the lampwire or the lamp being caught on an obstacle, a resistant force againstthe tensile stress is generated on surfaces of the securing groove.Accordingly, disconnection of the lamp 310 and lamp wire 314 can beprohibited.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the chassis 500 preferably has a rectangularparallelepiped shape like the mold frame 400. In other words, an upperportion of the chassis 500 is opened to expose the LCD panel 200, and aside portion of the chassis 500 is vertically bent toward the mold frame400 to cover the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the LCDpanel 200. Accordingly, the chassis 500 causes the source printedcircuit board 220 and the gate printed circuit board 230 to be bentalong the outer surface of the mold frame 400 and secured to the bottomof the mold frame 400.

The back light assembly 300 is installed into the mold frame 400,thereby making the mold frame assembly. Then, in the module assemblyprocess, the LCD panel 200 is assembled on the upper surface of the moldframe assembly and the chassis 500 is assembled to cover and fix the LCDpanel 200 to the mold frame 400. Subsequently, a front case 600 and arear case 700 are assembled, thereby completing the LCD device.

Thereafter, if the lamp wire 314 and the inverter (not shown) providingan alternative current are connected through a connector 324, the lamp310 radiates a light and the light is provided to the LCD panel 200through the LGP 320 to display an image on the LCD panel 200.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the mold frameassembly of the LCD device shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a crosssectional view showing a securing groove taken along the line A-A ofFIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the source printed circuit board 220 isbent backward along the side surface of the mold frame 400 and issecured to a side edge of the rear surface of the mold frame 400. Atthis time, the reflection plate 340 is revealed on the rear surface ofthe mold frame assembly 900. The separating body 430, which is a portionof the side portion of the mold frame 400, distinguishes the wire entry410 from the second chassis coupling portion 420 b.

As aforementioned, the securing groove 432 for securing the lamp wire314 is formed in a side surface of the separating body 430 including anopening portion 432 a for inserting the lamp wire 314, a bottom surface432 b of the securing groove 432 facing to the opening portion 432 a, afirst sidewall 432 c and a second sidewall 432 d perpendicular to thebottom surface 432 b respectively and facing to each other. The lampwire 314 is forcibly inserted into the securing groove 432 through theopening portion 432 a.

A depth “d” of the securing groove 432, which is defined as a distancefrom the opening portion 432 a to the bottom surface 432 b, is formeddeeply enough to receive both hot and cold wires of the lamp wire 314.Also, the width “w” of the securing groove 432, which is defined as adistance from the first sidewall 432 c to the second sidewall 432 d, isformed to be smaller than the diameter of the lamp wire 314.

Consequently, the lamp wire 314, including the hot and cold wires, isfirmly secured within the securing groove 432, and thus the sway of thelamp wire 314 is restricted, so that the connection failure of thesoldering portion of the lamp wire 314 is reduced. The width “w” of thesecuring groove 432 is in a range of more than 80%, preferably 90% ofthe diameter of the lamp wire 314, but less than the diameter of thelamp wire 314.

Furthermore, the securing groove 432 may further include a blocking wall(not shown) between the hot wire and the cold wire of the lamp wire 314for isolating the hot wire and the cold wire electrically. The blockingwall improves an electrical stability of the lamp wire 314 by blockingan electrical interaction between the hot wire and the cold wire.

Hence, when an unexpected tensile force is applied to the lamp wire 314due to entangling or being caught on an obstacle, a friction force isgenerated opposite to the direction of the tensile force on the surfaceof the lamp wire 314 of the securing groove 432. The friction forceintroduces a resistant force to the tensile force, and then the tensileforce has no effect on the soldering portion connecting the lamp 310 andthe lamp wire 314. Therefore, the connection failure of the solderingportion of the lamp wire 314 is reduced prominently.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are cross sectional views showing securing grooveshaving securing supplements according to another embodiment of thepresent invention.

The lamp wire 314 is secured to the mold frame 400 more safely by use ofvarious securing supplements, for example, securing protrusions 434formed on the first sidewall 432 c and second sidewall 432 d of thesecuring groove 432 as shown in FIG. 5A, an adhesive tape 436, and asecuring clip 438 as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the securing protrusion portion 434 is alternatelyformed on the first and second sidewalls 432 c and 432 d, including afirst protrusion 434 a and a second protrusion 434 b, so that thesecuring protrusion portion 434 prevents the lamp wire 314 from beingseparated from the securing groove 432. Namely, the first protrusion 434a is protruded from the first sidewall 432 c near the opening portion432 a of the securing groove 432, and the second protrusion 434 b isprotruded from the second sidewall 432 d near the bottom surface 432 bof the securing groove 432. As an embodiment of the securing protrusionportion 434, the first protrusion 434 a and the second protrusion 434 bcan cross each other in the same cross sectional plane that includes thefirst protrusion 434 a and the second protrusion 434 b.

As a matter of course, positions of the first protrusion 434 a and thesecond protrusion 434 b may be exchanged with each other. Namely, thefirst protrusion 434 a may be positioned on the second sidewall 432 dnear the opening portion 432 a of the securing groove 432, and thesecond protrusion 434 b may be positioned on the first sidewall 432 cnear the opening portion 432 a of the securing groove 432. The securingprotrusion portion 434 can be formed in any shape, but preferably, isformed as a cylindrical shape in consideration of ease of manufacturing.

The securing protrusion portion 434 prevents the lamp wire 314 insertedinto the securing groove 432 from being separated from the securinggroove 432 and therefore, ensures the securing of the lamp wire 314 tothe securing groove 432.

Referring to FIG. 5B, an adhesive tape 436 is provided to cover theopening portion 432 a of the securing groove 432 including the lamp wire314. The adhesive tape 436 adheres to the entire side surface 430 a ofthe separating body 430. Obviously, the adhesive tape 436 can extend toan upper surface 430 b and bottom surface 430 c of the separating body430, although the adhesive tape 436 on the upper surface 430 b andbottom surface 430 c is not shown in the figures. The adhesive tape 436covers up the opening portion 432 a of the securing groove 432, andtherefore prevents the lamp wire 314 from being separated from thesecuring groove 432.

Referring to FIG. 5C, the securing clip 438 is provided to cover theopening portion 432 a of the securing groove 432 including the lamp wire314. The securing clip 438 is made of elastic material having anexcellent restoring force, and it is preferably made in a rectangularshape whose one side is open. The securing clip 438 comprises a bodyportion 438 a, a first extending portion 438 b and a second extendingportion 438 c. The body portion 438 a of the securing clip 438 closes upthe opening portion 432 a of the securing groove 432 by covering theentire side surface 430 a of the separating body 430. Also, the firstextending portion 438 b sticks to the upper surface 430 b of theseparating body 430 and the second extending portion 438 c sticks to thebottom surface 430 c of the separating body 430 by the restoring forceof the securing clip 438.

The securing clip 438 prevents the lamp wire 314 inserted into thesecuring groove 432 from being separated from the securing groove 432and therefore, ensures the securing of the lamp wire 314 to the securinggroove 432.

By using the above-mentioned securing supplements, the lamp wire 314providing a current to the lamp of the back light is tightly and safelysecured to the mold frame 400. Consequently, the connection failure ofthe soldering portion due to the sway of the lamp wire 314 is reducedand the double securing process of the lamp wire 314 in manufacturingthe LCD device is no longer necessary.

Although the side portion of the mold frame 400 between the firstchassis coupling portion 420 a and the second chassis coupling portion420 b is removed to lighten the LCD device according to the firstembodiment of the present invention, the side portion does not need tobe removed. Especially in a large LCD device for a computer or atelevision, the side portion of the mold frame 400 between the firstchassis coupling portion 420 a and the second chassis coupling portion420 b is not removed. In such a case, a securing portion may be formedon a portion of a side surface of the mold frame in a rectangularparallelepiped shape. Namely, the side surface of the mold frame isdepressed to a desired depth to form the securing portion, and thus thesecuring portion has four sidewalls, a bottom surface and a space forreceiving the lamp wire. At this time, a width of the securing depressedportion, defined as a distance between two longitudinal sidewalls of thefirst securing depressed portion, is formed to be smaller than adiameter of the lamp wire so that the lamp wire is firmly secured to thesecuring depressed portion.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the mold frameassembly having a securing portion according to the second embodiment ofthe present invention. In FIG. 6, members of the second embodiment ofthe present invention identical to those of the first embodiment of thepresent invention are designated by identical references.

Referring to the FIG. 6, the source printed circuit board 220 is bentalong the outer side surface of the mold frame 400 and is secured to aside edge of the rear surface of the mold frame 400. The reflectionplate 340 is revealed on the rear surface of the mold frame assembly900. The separating body 430, which is a portion of the side portion ofthe mold frame 400, distinguishes the wire entry 410 from the secondchassis coupling portion 420 b.

A securing depressed portion 440 for further securing the lamp wire 314to the mold frame 400 is formed beside the reflection plate 340. Therear surface of the mold frame 400 is dug out to a desired depth and thesecuring depressed portion 440 has a space for receiving the lamp wire314 therein.

The securing depressed portion 440 preferably has a rectangularparallelepiped shape with two latitudinal sidewalls, two longitudinalsidewalls and a bottom surface as an embodiment of the securingdepressed portion 440. As a result, the securing depressed portion 440has a space for receiving the lamp wire 314. As an embodiment of thesecuring depressed portion 440, a width of the securing depressedportion 440, which is defined as a distance between the two longitudinalsidewalls of the securing depressed portion 440, is smaller than adiameter of the lamp wire 314. Therefore, the lamp wire 314 is forciblyand firmly secured into the securing depressed portion 440.

The securing depressed portion 440 further includes a pair of securingribs 442 to clamp the lamp wire 314 firmly as another embodiment of thesecuring depressed portion 440. The securing depressed portion 440 isformed to have an enough space to receive a pair of the securing ribs442 and the securing ribs 442 are installed on the bottom surface of thesecuring depressed portion 440 facing to each other and having a spacebetween the securing ribs 442 for receiving the lamp wire 314 therein.

The pair of the securing ribs 442 is formed in a semicircular shape andthus they face to each other apart by a desired distance from eachother. Therefore, there is provided a securing space having a widthcorresponding to the distance between a pair of the securing ribs 442and a height corresponding to a thickness of the securing ribs 442, thewidth of the securing space being smaller than a diameter of the lampwire 314. Consequently, the lamp wire 314 is secured to the mold frame400 by forcibly inserting the lamp wire 314 into the securing space.

When an unexpected tensile force is applied to the lamp wire 314, afriction force is generated opposite to the direction of the tensileforce on the surface of the lamp wire 314 by a clamping force of thesecuring ribs 442. Accordingly, the friction force introduces aresistant force to the tensile force, and then the tensile force has noeffect on the soldering portion connecting the lamp 310 and the lampwire 314. Therefore, the connection failure of the lamp wire 314 isreduced prominently, and the lamp wire 314 is prevented from entanglingin transferring the mold frame assembly to the module assembly process.Furthermore, if necessary for the module assembly process, the lamp wire314 can be separated from the mold frame 400 by pulling out the lampwire 314 after widening the gap between the pair of the securing ribs440 by applying an external force to the securing rib 440.

Accordingly, the lamp wire 314 is easily secured to the mold frame 400without additional securing supplements and modifying an originaldimension of the mold frame 400. Also, the lamp wire 314 can beseparated from the mold frame 400 with ease, if necessary.

As compared with a conventional manufacturing process of an LCD devicein which the lamp wire 314 adheres to the mold frame 400 by an adhesive,the adhesive is removed in the module assembly process, and finally thelamp wire 314 again adheres to the mold frame, a manufacturing cost ofthe LCD device according to the present invention is reduced since theadhesive is no longer necessary, and a process time is also reducedsince a double securing step repeatedly required for securing the lampwire 314 to the mold frame 400 is no longer necessary.

Either the cold wire or the hot wire is secured to the mold frame 400 inthe second embodiment of the present invention, but both the cold wireand the hot wire can be secured to the mold frame 400 by widening thegap of the securing ribs 442.

FIG. 7A is a cross sectional view showing a securing depressed portiontaken along the line A-A of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7B is a cross sectionalview showing a securing depressed portion taken along the line B-B ofFIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B, a securing depressed portion 440 is formedto have a desired depth (d) by digging out the rear surface of the moldframe 400 and therefore, comprises two longitudinal sidewalls 440 b, twolatitudinal sidewalls 440 c, and one bottom surface 440 a. Accordingly,the securing depressed portion 440 is defined by a desired width (w),length (l) and depth (d).

A pair of the securing ribs 442, including a first rib 4421 and a secondrib 4422, are protruded upwardly in the middle of the bottom surface 440a of the securing depressed portion 440, and the first rib 4421 and thesecond rib 4422 are positioned facing to each other apart at somedistance and they have a predetermined height. A securing space 443 forreceiving the lamp wire 314, which is defined by the bottom surface 440a of the securing depressed portion 440 and inner side surfaces of thefirst rib 4421 and the second rib 4422, is formed to have a width, whichis a distance between the first rib 4421 and the second rib 4422,smaller than a diameter of the lamp wire 314 so that the lamp wire 314is forcibly and firmly secured into the securing space 443. Furthermore,each of the first and second securing ribs 4421 and 4422 is positionedapart from each longitudinal sidewall 440 b at a desired distance,thereby forming a bump space 444. The bump space absorbs an elasticdeformation of the securing ribs 442

As an embodiment of the second embodiment of the present invention, thewidth of the securing space 443 is in a range of more than 80%,preferably 90% of the diameter of the lamp wire 314, but less than thediameter of the lamp wire 314, and hence the lamp wire 314 is forciblyand firmly secured into the securing space 443 by a frictional forcebetween the surface of the securing ribs 442 and the lamp wire 314. Whenthe lamp wire is inserted into the securing space 443, an elasticdeformation of the first rib 4421 and the second rib 4422 due to a tightinsertion of the lamp wire 314 is absorbed in the bump space 444.

Furthermore, the first rib 432 a and the second rib 432 b include afirst chamfer surface 448 formed along an upper edge portion of theinner surface of the first rib 432 a and the second rib 432 b, so thatthe lamp wire 314 is smoothly inserted into the securing space 443 andeasily pulled out from the space 449 without rubbing with the upper edgeportion of the inner surface of the securing rib 432. Also, as shown inFIG. 7B, a second chamfer surface 440 d is also formed along an upperedge portion of the inner surface of the latitudinal sidewall 440 c toprevent the lamp wire 314 from being rubbed against the upper edgeportion of the inner surface.

Accordingly, at first, the lamp wire 314 is inserted into the securingspace 443 between the first rib 4421 and the second rib 4422 by anexternal force so that the lamp wire 314 is secured to the mold frame400, and, in case the lamp wire 314 is required to move again, the lampwire 314 is simply separated from the mold frame 400 by widening the gapbetween the first rib 4421 and the second rib 4422 and pulling out thelamp wire 314 from the securing space 443. In other words, the lamp wire314 is secured to the mold frame 400 in such a way that a securing and aseparation of the lamp wire are performed with ease and simplicity.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the securing rib shown in FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 8, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention,the first rib 4421 and the second rib 4422 have a semicircular shape.Each of the first and second fixing ribs 4421 and 4422 includes asecuring surface 449 having a rectangular side surface and acircumferential side surface, and thus the securing rib 442 has a firstsecuring surface 449 a and a second securing surface 449 b. At thistime, the first securing surface 449 a and the second securing surface449 b face each other and are separated at a desired distance.Consequently, a securing space 443 is provided between the firstsecuring surface 449 a and the second securing surface 449 b forreceiving the lamp wire 314. Namely, the securing space 443 is definedby the first securing surface 449 a, the second securing surface 449 band the bottom surface 440 a.

First chamfer surfaces 448 are formed along upper edge portions of thefirst securing surface 449 a and the second securing surface 449 b witha desired chamfer angle to prevent a damage of the lamp wire 314 due toa rubbing against the upper edge portions of the securing surface 449.Hence, the height of the securing surface 449 is lower than the heightof the securing rib 442. The height of the fixing rib 442 can beadjusted properly, if necessary, within the depth of the securingdepressed portion 440.

The first chamfer surfaces 448 of the first rib 4421 and the second rib4422 are symmetrical to each other, and thus the first chamfer surface448 of the first rib 4421 is described in detail as follows.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the first rib taken along the lineC-C of FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 9, a chamfer line 4481, which is an arbitrary crosssectional line of the first chamfer surface 448, is formed by cuttingoff an upper corner portion 447 of the first securing surface 449 a fromthe first rib 4421. Preferably, the upper corner portion 447 is shapedin a right-angled triangle having a base line C₁ and a height C₂. Thebase line C₁ has a distance from an upper corner point 442 d of thefirst securing surface 449 a to a first point 442 b set on an uppersurface 442 a of the first rib 4421, and the height of right-angledtriangle C₂ has a distance from the upper corner point 442 d of thefirst securing surface 449 a to a second point 442 c set on the firstsecuring surface 449 a. Accordingly, when the upper corner portion 447shaped in a right-angled triangle is cut off, the chamfer line 4481 isformed at an upper portion of the first rib 4421 as an inclined linecorresponding to a hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle.

A normal vector of the first chamfer surface 448 is determined by thechamfer angle. The chamfer angle is defined as an angle between the baseline C₁ and the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle. Since thehypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is a line connecting the firstpoint 442 b and the second point 442 c, the chamfer angle is determinedby a ratio of C₁ and C₂.

In other words, a distance from the upper corner point 442 d to thefirst point 442 b and a distance from the upper corner point 442 d tothe second point 442 c determine the dimension and the direction of thefirst chamfer surface. Accordingly, the height of the securing surfaceh₂ is lower than the height of the securing rib h₁.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first chamfersurface 448 is formed such that the base line C₁ and the height of theright-angled triangle C₂ are the same and hence, the chamfer angle is 45degrees. The structure of the first chamfer surface 448 and a method offorming the first chamfer surface 448 are identically applied to thesecond chamfer surface formed on the upper edge of the inner surface ofthe latitudinal sidewall 440 c of the securing depressed portion 440.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a rear surface of the mold frameassembly having a securing member according to a third embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, a securing clip 450 for securing the lamp wire 314is installed to an outer surface of the separating body 430 and rendersthe lamp wire 314 secured to the outer surface of the separating body430. When the lamp wire 314 is secured to the separating body 430, it iscompressed between the outer surface of the separating body 430 and aninner surface of the securing clip 450, and then a friction forcegenerated on the surface of the lamp wire 314 prevents a sway of thelamp wire 314. Accordingly, the lamp wire 314 can be secured to the moldframe 400 without an additional modification of the separating body 430

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view showing a securing member of the lampwire 314 taken along the line C-C of FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 11, the securing clip 450 is made of elastic materialhaving an excellent restoring force, and comprises a body 452, a firstextending portion 454 and a second extending portion 456. The body 452compresses the lamp wire 314 to the outer surface of the separating body430. Also, the first extending portion 454 sticks to the upper surface430 b of the separating body 430 and the second extend portion 456sticks to the bottom surface 430 c of the separating body 430 by therestoring force of the fixing clip 450. As another embodiment of thesecuring clip 450, the securing clip 450 may further include a prominentportion on an inner surface of the first extending portion 454 and thesecond extending portion 456 to reinforce the joint of the securing clip450 and the separating body 430.

FIG. 12 is a view showing an adhesive tape substituting for the securingclip of FIG. 11.

Referring to FIG. 12, an adhesive tape 460 is adhered to the outersurface 430 a of the separating body 430 to secure the lamp wire 314.The hot wire and a cold wire are spaced apart from each other at asufficient distance such that an adhering surface between the adhesivetape 460 and the outer surface 430 a is secured as wide as possible,thereby preventing a current leakage due to a contact of the hot wireand the cold wire. Also, the adhesive tape 460 may be extended to theupper surface 430 b and the bottom surface 430 c of the separating body430.

Consequently, the connection failure of soldering portion due to sway ofthe lamp wire 314 is reduced and it is no longer required to repeat theprocess of securing the lamp wire 314 in manufacturing the LCD device.Also, the chamfer surface prevents the damage of the lamp wire 314 dueto a friction with an edge line of the securing rib and securing thedepressed portion 440.

According to the present invention, a securing portion or member securesthe lamp wire 314 to the mold frame in such a way that fixation andseparation of the lamp wire 314 is performed with ease and simplicityand it reduces the connection defect of the soldering portion of thelamp wire 314 due to a sway of the lamp wire, and an entangling the lampwire 314 prevented.

Furthermore, it is no longer necessary to repeatedly attach an adhesivein the moving step of the mold frame assembly and in the shipping stepof the LCD device.

While the present invention has been described in detail, it should beunderstood that various changes, substitutions and alterations could bemade hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claims.

1. A liquid crystal display (LCD), comprising: an LCD panel; a backlightassembly comprising a lamp wire, a light supplying part including alight source disposed in a first direction and an electrode partelectrically connecting the lamp wire and the light supplying part; amold frame receiving the backlight assembly and the LCD panel and havinga de-pressed portion formed on a first sidewall thereof; and a securingmember formed on the depressed portion to receive and secure at least aportion of the lamp wire and having a securing groove, and the securinggroove separated from a second sidewall which is substantiallyperpendicular to the first sidewall with a predetermined distance, andwherein the lamp wire is extended in a second direction substantiallyperpendicular to the first direction between the electrode part to thesecuring groove.
 2. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the depressed portion ofthe mold frame is formed by digging out the first wall of the moldframe, the depressed portion having a space for receiving the lamp wiretherein.
 3. The LCD of claim 1, wherein the securing member comprises atleast two securing ribs.
 4. The LCD of claim 3, wherein a distancebetween the securing ribs is less than a diameter of the lamp wire. 5.The LCD of claim 1, wherein the depressed portion has a bottom surface,and the securing member is disposed on the bottom surface.
 6. The LCD ofclaim 1, wherein the securing member further comprises a securingsupplement for preventing the lamp wire from being separated from thesecuring groove.
 7. The LCD of claim 6, wherein the securing supplementis a clip having an elastic properties or an adhesive tape.